Episode 131: Excuse my French, Lady of the Night, and other common euphemisms

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Ian: Hey everyone, you are listening to “Coffee with Gringos.” I'm Ian Kennedy.

Paige: And I'm Paige Sutherland.

Ian: And today, we're going to be talking about another part of English language that is very common for us native speakers but can be quite confusing to those who are just learning the language. This part of the language is what we call euphemisms and euphemisms are basically vague expressions to replace something that we want to say that's maybe really severe or blunt or maybe inappropriate in certain situations. So, maybe you're in the office, maybe you're with fancy company, maybe it's just something you really shouldn't say in the way you want to say it directly. So, this is a way to sort of make it sound a little less harsh and a little bit more appropriate. So, Paige and I thought that we would talk about this today to our listeners. So, listeners, as always, if you get lost, go online and check out that audio guide and transcript at www.dynamicenglish.cl. So, Paige—euphemisms. They are a super common part of the English language. I think I probably use them without even noticing that I'm using them and I think most people would say the same. So, tell us, what are some euphemisms or a euphemism that comes to your mind right off the bat?

Paige: Yeah, I mean, there's several. I think it's funny when you don't think about grammar, you don't realize how much you use these just day to day without realizing that they are a certain phrase that doesn't quite make sense. So, one that I've used before and still use is, “Excuse my French” which basically just means that you said something profane, maybe you were swearing, or said something a little off-color. And what's funny is I never knew the meaning of it and I just looked it up now and, I guess in the 19th century, British people would use French sometimes because who they were talking to wouldn’t understand the language. They would say, “Excuse my French” or “Pardon my French.” So, it's funny that it was just like a language barrier but it's kind of been morphed into I'm swearing and saying something inappropriate.

Ian: That's funny, I've always wondered that myself. I always thought, why do we say French compared to any other language? But that makes total sense now that you really explain it.

Paige: Yeah, because at first, you think, are French potty mouths? Like they swear a lot? Why do we say that?

Ian: Exactly, yeah could be. Well, that's a good one. You're right. This one is one that I hear all the time, and I'm sure actually some of our listeners might have seen this when they're watching a movie or a series of some type, you might hear a character say, “Excuse my French, but this food is bullshit” or “what you said is bullshit.” You always have some sort of English curse word, so, it's almost like a warning. So, prepare yourself, “Excuse my French” but, and then fill in the blank. So, super common—we use this one a lot.

Paige: What are some words that come to your mind?

Ian: Another one that I hear a lot is “bite the dust.” And “bite the dust” is basically a nicer way to say that someone has failed or more severely, maybe they've been killed or defeated. So, we use this a lot in competition or when we're talking about battles or duels, whatever it might be. The reason that it's called “bite the dust”, the origin is pretty interesting. It became popularized in movies like old western movies in the US, especially when cowboys and Indians were fighting each other and maybe one of them would be shot, and they would fall off their horse, and they'd hit the ground—the dry ground. And so, all the dust would come up from the ground, and it would basically represent that this person failed, they fell off their horse, they died, and so this is called “biting the dust”, basically to say that someone has died in this way. We use it and hear it in different ways as well. I'm sure most of our listeners have heard the song “Another One Bites the Dust” by Queen. This is another classic example of saying, the other we were successful, they bit the dust, they either were defeated or they died. So that's a more pop culture reference to that one but super common—"bite the dust.” What are some other ones maybe that come to your mind that you think of?

Paige: Yeah, I think this next one is really fitting, especially for my age group. As you know, I just turned thirty-one and so a lot of my friends are pregnant and having babies. And so, this phrase is “bun in the oven” which means that you're pregnant and it's pretty literal. It means the idea that you're making something in the oven, so as you're making a human life in the womb is I guess compared to having dough in the oven and making bread.

Ian: It's a funny one visually that comes to mind when you think about that. You think about the big pregnant stomach as being the oven and the baby is the bread baking inside.

Paige: Exactly, yeah. So, it's definitely a phrase that's fitting for a lot of my friends right now. A lot of my friends have “buns in the oven” as we speak.

Ian: Yeah, so listeners don't be confused if you hear two people talking and they say, “Oh, you’ve got a little bun in the oven” they're not talking about cooking at home. They're talking about their baby.

Paige: Yeah.

Ian: Very good. Another one that I can think of, which we're going to get more into the more inappropriate side of things in this next one is, we have the phrase, “Lady of The Night.” As most can guess by the way it’s described, a “lady of the Night” is another term for a prostitute—so, someone who you pay for sex. And the reason for that is because prostitutes are out and about at night, out on the streets soliciting people for sexual services. And so, whether it was trying to be more subtle when you're referring to using these services or looking for these services, a lot of people refer to a lady of the night as a more subtle way of saying the word “prostitute.” So be careful using that phrase about who you're saying it around as well because might get you into some trouble in many different ways. So, “Lady of The Night” is not a nice term. Don't call your girlfriend a lady of the night. It’s not going to end well for you, just a word to the wise there.

Paige: Yeah, it does not mean you’re a night owl, that you like to stay up late.

Ian: We've mentioned that phrase before and they're very different their meaning. So, like I tell most people if you don't understand the meaning of something, don't say it. Go ahead and figure out what it means first before you want to say it. So, that's a classic example there— “Lady of the Night.”

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Paige: This next one is also inappropriate but more in a crude sense, and this is related to as we say “potty talk”—bathroom talk. So, this is “do your business” or “doing your business.” You can use it for humans but it's more I think used for dogs. “Oh, look at that dog doing his business” and it just means that he is going to the bathroom and it implies, number two, which means pooping. So, the dog is taking a shit, so you would say, “Oh, that dog is doing his business.” But my dad uses that phrase like he would be after his morning coffee like got to “do the business.” It’s definitely a dad phrase.

Ian: I think it depends on who you're talking to, who it is referring to because while I think most of the time it's referred to pets like animals, dogs, cats, we can also use it maybe for children sometimes like children who are learning how to use the restroom or go to the bathroom correctly. You might use this term instead of saying, “poop” or “pee”, you might say “Okay, go do your business” or “did you do your business? “Or again, referring to the pets, “I need to take the dog out so it can do its business”. This is a little bit more of a polite or appropriate way than saying, “Alright, got to take the dog out for a shit.” So, a little bit better.

Paige: Yeah, exactly. What's another one that you can think of, Ian?

Ian: Another one that is very common to hear from women, especially, and especially, way back in the past where the origin comes from is a phrase, “to powder one's nose” or to say “I need to go powder my nose.” What this comes from basically is so ladies’ restrooms, back in history, used to be called “powder rooms.” So, ladies’ bathrooms, they had chairs and mirrors and all these different features so that women could look at their appearance, make sure their makeup looks okay, their dresses look okay, basically just to check their appearance. And so, powder is like makeup that you put on your face, and due to the nature of society at the time, especially, women didn't want to reveal to the rest of the company that they were going to the bathroom. They didn’t want to say “Excuse me, I need to go pee or poop or go to the bathroom” so they wouldn't say instead say, “Please excuse me, I'm going to go powder my nose” to say I’m going to look at my face to make sure I look okay. But in reality, it's just a nicer way of saying I need to go use the restroom.

Paige: To be fair, Ian, a lot of women do go to the bathroom not to go to the bathroom. It's to look at their face or hair or makeup.

Ian: Fair enough, fair enough. They're not necessarily mutually exclusive.

Paige: Yeah, it is like the powder your nose, could be you're actually fixing your makeup, your hair or, as us women know, we're just gossiping about what just happened or if there's a guy at the bar or something that just happened.

Ian: Yeah, so it's almost like code. It’s almost more like code for women than that phrase itself a euphemism.

Paige: Yeah, exactly. Yeah, that's why girls always go powder their noses in packs.

Ian: There's never one lady going to powder her nose alone. That's true. You bring up a good point. What’s another one you can think of?

Paige: Yeah, another one that I like is one that refers to someone's intelligence. It's “not the sharpest pencil in the box.” And so that one is how it sounds, and it's the idea that “sharp” is a synonym for brightness, for being intelligent. And so obviously the pencil, the tip of the pencil, is either sharp or it's dull which “dull” is another synonym for dumb. So, when, when you're saying “not the sharpest pencil in the box” it is negative. It's saying that this person is stupid. So again, listeners, it's not a thing that you should throw around, it could be used as a joke but it definitely is very negative and referring that someone's dumb.

Ian: Yeah, so you shouldn't say this to someone directly, shouldn't tell them they're not the sharpest pencil in the box. Probably not the nicest thing to say. So, then the last one that we'll mention today is one that is with physical appearance and a lot of people say instead of someone being fat, they'll say they're “big-boned.” So, referring to the bones in their body and say “Oh, they're not fat. They're just big-boned. They can't help it because their bones are big.” Which physiologically, I don't think really makes any sense. I guess we'd have to talk to some doctors about that but the idea is you're saying you don't want to hurt someone's feelings by calling them overweight, or by calling them fat so instead, you just say, “No, no, no. You're not fat or they're not fat, they're just big-boned.” It's just a nicer way of saying they're a big person, basically.

Paige: Yeah, I agree. I think it's just a softer way to talk about someone's weight, but I do feel like, listeners, I wouldn't use it. It's not that soft. It's like, yeah, it's something like if you're trying to be politically correct, you might say it about someone, but you would never be like,” Oh, you're big-boned.”

Ian: Yeah exactly. Just kind of similar to the “sharpest pencil in the box.” You shouldn't say this directly really to someone. It's more we're talking about a third person away from them but, nonetheless, it's a way to sort of subtly describe someone. Listeners, as we've mentioned, these are just a few of some very common and popular euphemisms that we use. We could go on and on and on and there are many more we can talk about. So, please if you're interested go online and check out some more of these euphemisms. Try to use them in your daily conversation because they really truly will make you sound a lot more fluent, sounding much more like a native speaker because we use these all the time and, like I said, without even really thinking about them. So, listeners, if you get lost, go online and check out that audio guide and transcript at www.dynamicenglish.cl. As always, thanks for listening.

Paige: We'll see you next time.

Paige: “Coffee with Gringos” was brought to you by Dynamic English, where you can learn English simply by using it. If you’re interested in taking classes or just want to learn more, go to our website at dynamicenglish.cl. Thanks for listening.

Key Vocabulary, Phrases & Slang:

 1.     vague (adjective): uncertain or unclear in meaning.

a.     She always says vague expressions that make us question her meaning.

2.     blunt (adjective): very honest.

a.     She always tells her students the blunt truths of life.

3.     right off the bat (idiom): immediately.

a.     I can’t tell you the answer right off the bat. I need to do some research first.

4.     profane (adjective): inappropriate.

a.     Don’t use profane words around the children.

5.     off-color (adjective): inappropriate, indecent, disrespectful.

a.     The off-color joke he said offended everyone in the room.

6.     to morph (verb): to change or transform in a smooth way.

a.     The phrase has morphed in many different ways since its first use.

7.     potty mouth (noun, slang): someone who uses bad or inappropriate language.

a.     Your boyfriend is the biggest potty-mouth I’ve ever met.

8.     to solicit (verb): to ask for something.

a.     She solicited the man on the street to offer her services.

9.     word to the wise (idiom): referring to something that is said should be followed as advice.

a.     I wouldn’t go to that part of the city at night, just word to the wise.

10.  crude (adjective): inappropriate or rude.

a.     Don’t use crude language around them or they will be offended

11.  to gossip (verb): to discuss details about other people or situations.

a.     The girls spent all night gossiping about everything in their lives.